Marshall Kauffman’s Kings Promotions and Titan Boxing returned to the Sands Bethlehem Event Center, in Bethlehem, PA, for the twentieth time (Kings) Friday night. Co-promoter is Titan Boxing.
In the Main Event southpaw Frank Santo De Alba, 23-4-2 (9), 137# of PR living in Allentown, PA, easily defeated former WBC Silver Latino champion Ruben Dario “Pata” Lopez, 12-14-4 (5), 137# of Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina, over 8 exciting rounds.
In the first round Lopez came out like a wild man throwing punches backing up De Alba. The fans started yelling for southpaw De Alba as he came back in the second half of the fight taking it to Lopez. In the second round Lopez was throwing wild punches as southpaw De Alba kept his cool countering Lopez well.
In the third round southpaw De Alba pressed the action while Lopez would land a solid overhand right on occasions. In the fourth round Lopez came out running around the ring looking tired as De Alba landed to both the body and head.
In the fifth round Lopez came out running around the ring looking tired as De Alba pressed him out landing him but occasionally running into a right hand on the chin. In the sixth round Lopez started showboating running around the ring with his hands to his side. De Alba easily took the round.
In the seventh round De Alba continued chasing down Lopez who fought in spurts. In the eighth and final round with Lopez seemingly content to go the distance southpaw De Alba chased him down as both had the fans cheering the action. De Alba had his way but Lopez made it interesting.
Scores were Frisca, Bruni and Lacenes 80-72 while this writer had it 79-73. Referee was Erik Dali.
In the Co-feature Super Welterweight southpaw Erik Spring, 13-2-2 (1), of Reading, PA, 154# in a war defeated southpaw Nicolas “Living Dream” Hernandez, 9-4-1 (2), #154 of Reading, PA, over 8 rounds, for the USBF title (James Gibbs Representing).
In the first round both southpaws from Reading had the local fans cheering with neither having a solid edge. In the second round Hernandez finished the last ten seconds with a flurry of punches having Spring on the defense.
In the third round the taller Spring had his way until the end of the round when Hernandez landed a combination having the fans cheering. In the fourth round as the action picked up the fans were yelling “Nicky, Nicky”. Spring would start fast and Hernandez finish strong.
In the fifth round in the heat of the action with the fans screaming Hernandez knocked out the mouthpiece of Spring. It went back and forth with each fighter gaining the advantage. In the sixth round the fans started yelling for Hernandez again. Both fighters would take turns getting the advantage in the round.
In the seventh round both fighters took turns backing one another to the ropes. The fans never stopped yelling. This round it was Spring finishing the stronger of the two. In the eighth and final round Spring came out strong. The fans were yelling for Hernandez as he drove Spring into the ropes with a flurry of punches. The fight was on the line in this final round with both giving it all they had.
Scores were Morgan, Bruni and Frisca had it 77-75 as did this writer.
Janelson Figueroa Bocachica, 14-0 (10), #148 out of PR and Detroit, MI, won by stoppage at the end of round three over Gabor “Squirrel” Gorbics, 26-17(16), #148 out of Budapest, Hungary, by order of the ring physician.
In the first round after a feeling out first minute Bocachica rocked Gorbics with a right cross on the chin. It wasn’t until the final thirty seconds of the round that Bocachica was able to land another right to the head of the moving Gorbics. The ring physician came in between rounds to check Gorbics.
In the second round Bocachica hurt Gorbics halfway thru the round with a body shot causing him to get on the run. As Gorbics came inside to fight he was blasted with a right to the nose causing blood to pour out. At the end of the round the ring physician came to Gorbics corner stopping the fight. Gorbics started complaining. Referee was Erik Dali.
Russia’s Radzhab “No Mercy” Butaev, 12-0 (9), #152 of Brooklyn, NY, won a hard fought decision over Silverio “Chamaco III” Ortiz, 37-25 (18), #154 of Merida, Yucatan, MEX, over 6 rounds.
In the first round Butaev got right to the body of Ortiz through the entire round. In the second round Ortiz came out landing overhand rights to the head of Butaev. Butaev continued to work the body. In the third round Butaev started using the ring as Ortiz chased him Butaev gave him a boxing lesson.
In the fourth round Butaev hit Ortiz on the back of the head dropping him for several minutes. The ring physician was brought in. When Ortiz got okay he was fighting man going to the body of Butaev. In the fifth round Butaev worked the body of Ortiz while landing right uppercuts to the chin. It wasn’t until the final ten seconds that Ortiz landed an overhand right to the head.
In the sixth and final round Butaev a former MMA fighter did his best to try for a knockout but Ortiz would have none of it. He fought back landing an occasional overhand right.
Scores were Morgan 59-54, Bruni and Rose ? 58-55 while this writer had it 59-55. Referee was Erik Dali.
Super Bantam southpaw Martino “Titan” Jules, 6-0 (0), #126 of Allentown, PA, easily defeated a game Danny “Venado” Flores, 15-16-1 (8), #126 of Mexico City, MEX, over 6 rounds for the NABO title.
In the first two rounds the shorter Flores kept running into southpaw Jules jab and left hands to the head. In the third round southpaw Jules hurt Flores with left uppercuts to the body and chin. The game Flores was taking punishment but kept coming.
In the fourth round southpaw Jules continued landing at will to the head of the oncoming Flores. In the fifth round Jules kept up landing punch after punch as Flores couldn’t get inside of his reach. In the sixth and final round Flores chased southpaw Jules only able to get a few punches in being countered by Jules.
Scores 60-54 by all 3 judges Frisca, Bruni and ? as did this writer. Referee was Gary Rosato.
Welter Ricky Nuno, 2-3(1), of Bethlehem, PA, #148, was stopped at the end of the fourth round losing to Rasheed “Sugar Sheed” Johnson, 6-2 (2), #149 of Philadelphia, PA, in a scheduled 6.
In the first round the taller Johnson kept Nuno at bey with a long jab. It took Nuno half a round to land a punch, a lead right to the body of Johnson. Johnson continued jabbing Nuno to the end of the round.
In the second round a lead right from Johnson on the chin of Nuno almost dropped him. As Johnson came in to follow-up he was hit with a Nuno left hook on the chin. Johnson continued using his jab while Nuno smiled back at him.
In the third round Nuno couldn’t get inside of the taller long reach of Johnson’s jab. In the fourth round a Johnson right rocked Nuno making him hold on. Midway through the round Nuno kept wiping his nose that started to bleed from Johnson’s right hands. The ring physician came in between rounds checking Nuno and halting the fight. The referee was Erik Dali.
Bantamweight Jonathan “Flash” Torres, 3-0 (0), #119 of PR and Bethlehem, PA, decisioned Jerrod Miner, 1-5-2 (1), #119 of Philadelphia, PA, over 4 rounds.
In the first two rounds both fighters fought on even terms. In the third round Torres landed several left hooks to the head of Miner who kept coming forward with little offense. In the fourth and final round both fighters had their moments with the decision on the line.
Scores were Morgan 39-37, Lacenas and Bruni 40-36. This writer had it 39-37. Referee was Erik Dali.
Super Middle Khainell Wheeler, 1-0 (1), #169 of Bethlehem, PA, made a successful debut before his hometown fans stopping George Sheppard, 1-8-1 (0), #168 of New Port, VA, at 2:47 of the first round.
In the first round the shorter Sheppard danced around switching from orthodox to southpaw as Wheeler stalked him landing good body shots. Near the end of the round Wheeler pinned Sheppard in a corner and hurt him with body shots with a final chopping right to the head as referee Gary Rosato wisely stepped in as a defensless Sheppard was out on his feet to stop the fight.
Bantam Yeuri “Dinamita” Andujar, 4-1 (3), 121# of San Cristoba, DR, won a majority decision over southpaw Edgar Joe Cortes, 6-5-1 (0), #121, of Vineland, NJ, over 6 rounds.
In the first round southpaw Cortes landed a right hook to the chin causing Andujar to hit the canvas, immediately getting up claiming he slipped. Referee Rosato gave me the 8 count. They mixed it up to the bell with Cortes ending the round with a lead left to the chin.
In the second round within a minute Andujar dropped southpaw Cortes with a right uppercut on the chin. Referee Rosato gave him the 8 count. He got up and both fighters went to war! In the final fifteen seconds southpaw Cortes dropped Andujar with a left to the chin. Referee Rosato gave him the 8. Upon getting up Andujar dropped southpaw Cortes with a low blow at the bell.
In the third round Andujar rushed in hands down throwing punches while southpaw Cortes countered with a left to the chin on several occasions. The fans really loved this round.
In the fifth round Andujar continued following southpaw Cortes as both slugged it out to the delight of the fans. In the sixth and final round Andujar chased landing body shots but getting countered by southpaw Cortes. They mixed it up well having the fans cheering for the entire round.
Scores were Lacenes 56-56 while judges Frisca and ? had it 57-55. This writer had it 56-56. The referee was Rosato. The fans were upset with the decision.